Video: Atlas 5 GPS 2F-8 Launch Highlights

The two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, or GSSAP, satellites for the U.S. military are mounted aboard the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket. Liftoff is planned for Aug. 19 from Cape Canaveral.

A Sunday afternoon rocket launch is planned for Cape Canaveral this weekend, and beachgoers should have good weather conditions to watch the commercial Atlas 5 rocket power skyward with an Internet access satellite.

NASA safety advisors on Thursday lauded hardware milestones on Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew capsules, but said multiple technical issues, including problems with parachutes, must be resolved before the human-rated ships are ready to carry astronauts, adding that both companies continue to pursue schedules that appear to be unachievable.